On Friday, 28 April 2023, Prof. em. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Fiedler passed away in Wuppertal at the age of 93.

Born and raised in Leipzig on 25 July 1929, he left his hometown in 1950 and studied civil engineering at the RWTH Aachen.  In 1957 he went to the TH Hannover as an assistant to Prof. Schlums and received his doctorate there. This was followed in 1961 by his entry into local public transport (ÖPNV) at Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA) as head of the development department. He then took over the management of the underground. During this time, the abolition of access controls at the underground stations and considerations on the optimal level of control in public transport were among the topics.

As early as 1965, he went to the State Engineering School for Civil Engineering (SIS) in Wuppertal as a lecturer for railway engineering and public transport systems. In 1966, he received a lectureship for public transport from the TH Karlsruhe and was appointed honorary professor in 1974.

In 1973, he turned down a call to ETH Zurich and instead established the teaching and research field of "Public Traffic and Transport Systems (ÖVTS)" as a university professor at the newly founded Gesamthochschule Wuppertal - now Bergische Universität. The focus of his teaching was on the fundamentals of transport planning, railway construction and operation, station facilities, vehicle dynamics and local public transport.

Joachim Fiedler was a practitioner and pragmatist. Always in search of solutions "for the benefit of passengers" - as Fiedler put it in 1977 - his teaching and research activities focused on individual mobility needs and their mapping in public transport systems.

Especially areas and times of weak transport demand - both in the city and in the countryside - hit people without car availability hard, possibly with the consequence of social isolation. Reason enough for Joachim Fiedler to expand public transport with target group and function-specific offers by developing shared taxis (in various forms), organised shared transport, disco buses etc.

The consistent continuation of these ideas in combination with conventional scheduled services led to the concept of "Differentiated Service", a comprehensive strategy for public transport services around the clock, right up to the front door and taking individual mobility needs into account as far as possible.

Such an approach requires comprehensive consultation on the diversity of services. Recognised deficits already in conventional regular transport ("the companies' duty to bring") initially led to the development of the "Bus Stop Information System (HIS)" in the 1980s and - going further - to mobility counselling across means of transport and modes of transport with mobility counsellors and mobility centres. Mobility management and mobility services were then only consistent further developments of the "Wuppertal School" in the 1990s.

In numerous seminars, among others at the Technical Academy Wuppertal (TAW), the Road and Transport Research Association (FGSV), the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), and in cooperation with various transport companies, he sought and found contact with practice. In addition to passing on university knowledge, these encounters were also a "place of learning in practice" for him. The associated expert discussions as well as personal experiences (e.g. disc accidents of young people in rural areas, theatre visits by senior citizens) led to research-relevant questions and resulting service concepts. They were the essential basis of his work.

In the FGSV, he founded and chaired the Public Transport Working Committee with various working groups for many years. Numerous publications of the FGSV and in technical journals are proof of his activities and drive. His book "Bahntechnik - Planung, Bau und Betrieb von Eisenbahnen, S-, U-Bahn-, Stadt- und Straßenbahnen" (Railway Technology - Planning, Construction and Operation of Railways, Suburban Railways, Underground Railways, Light Railways and Tramways) became a classic for people in practice and students in six editions.

His deeply people-oriented activities were not always understood or appreciated by everyone. "Job destruction" and "dismantling of conventional public transport" - these were some of the hostilities Fiedler and his fellow campaigners had to deal with in the 1980s.

Formalities (research applications and reporting) were a waste of time for him. He preferred to look for unconventional ways and allies for his pilot projects - and found them.

In doing so, Fiedler demanded a lot from himself, his family and his staff. At the same time, the people around him - his "students" - were always important to him. The exchange with them - even beyond the university years - and the knowledge about their further path in life were a trademark of his. He was always on duty for "his students", arranging internships, taking them to committee meetings, to seminars, to research projects on site. He had the extraordinary ability to rally students behind him and to inspire them passionately for the task of public transport. Today, Fiedler graduates from Wuppertal hold high-ranking management positions in many ministries, transport associations and public transport companies.

Even after his retirement in 1993, he continued to be active and took an active part in the development of mobility offers and in the transport development of Wuppertal until his old age. His always constructive criticism was much appreciated.

Collective taxis, organised take-away services, differentiated service, mobility advice, mobility centres, mobility services, mobility management - now often provided with anglicisms, globalised and also "hijacked" by the automotive industry - are today a natural part of our everyday mobility - "Made in Wuppertal" at the Chair of Public Transport Systems of Joachim Fiedler, already described and tested in the 1980s/1990s. He was ahead of his time in many ways!

Joachim Fiedler's life's work is omnipresent. It will continue to grow - for the benefit of passengers.

We are very grateful for his long service and for the many personal and enriching encounters with Joachim Fiedler, which he nurtured until his old age. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife and family.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Hoffmann

on behalf of all colleagues and alumni of the Transport Centre at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering of the University of Wuppertal